“Yay, trying out another sample from *Missy* & *Dylan* tonight! Thanks guys! Have definitely been missing you on Steepster.... :(
Sweet and genmaicha-like are the associations I'm getting from...”
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From Mauna Kea Tea

Selectively harvested for naturally low caffeine content. We processed and roasted to make this good for hot or cold tea. Naturally sweet. Easy to prepare and easy to drink without adding sugar. Organically grown at our farm in Hawaii.

Yay, trying out another sample from Missy & Dylan tonight! Thanks guys! Have definitely been missing you on Steepster…. :(

Sweet and genmaicha-like are the associations I’m getting from the steeped cup, which isn’t surprising given that the flavour is roasty and sweet like genmaicha, although short on toasted rice flavour. This is definitely a different take on green tea, in my mind, being so far from the vegetal teas I’m more used to, but it’s nice and calming. I’d probably choose to drink a genmaicha of some variety over this one though if I was looking for a quieting tea, as there’s considerably less caffeine in them (or at least there is in the tea I have, which I swear is 80% rice!)

Not finicky (I agree, unlike teas that go bitter if you steep them 2 seconds too long or at the wrong temp), but I somehow managed to ruin the next two infusions of it by not using enough water/steeping it for WAY too long. Sigh. I still have more to try later though!

Wow! I like this a lot! I’ve tried Mauna Kea’s green and Oolong teas, but, I had not yet tried the sweet roast, and this is unlike any green tea I think I’ve tried. When I think of roasted tea, I immediately think of Houjicha, but this is not quite like Houjicha. This is more like a thin Matcha – not thick and creamy like Matcha but I taste more of a Matcha-like taste to it, but with a roasty-toasty quality to it too.

I like this a lot… and I think that this makes up for the other two less-than-exciting teas in the Steepster box this month. Excellent choice, Steepster!

I think it was Azz who sent me this one, so sorry, if someone else did! Eeeek!

This is really nice and smooth and roasted and sweet. That about sums it up, really! I’m really impressed with this flavor, tho, it doesn’t look all that interesting but it IS super flavorful and unique!

Exciting tea world news for Ian: I made my Verdant Tea order today and I’m super excited AND to top it off the Steepster Select box that I won came in the mail today! So, if you’re looking forward to trying the teas and you haven’t gotten your package yet or haven’t tried them don’t read this because THEREARESPOILERS

So, this is weird-the steeping instructions say boiling water even though it’s a green and the one other review on here said the same. So, naturally I went with boiling water and did a 2 minute steep time. The dry and wet leaf smell……….. not good. Kind of like cigarette smoke, which may possibly be my least favorite smell in the world. The tea itself smells slightly better, though there is a slight cigarette hint in the smell.

This is actually okay, despite the smell. It has a toasty taste, but not in the way that you would think. When I thought of toasty I thought of sort of a genmaicha-esque flavor, but this is not like that. It’s very hard for me to describe the taste but the only way I can put it is like a non-disgusting ashtray. Not that gross ashtray taste that you get from burnt gas station coffees, but reminiscent of that. I know that probably sounds absolutely repulsive to most of you but it is somewhat palatable.

Overall this is okay. Not something I love but I don’t really hate it either. I look forward to trying the other teas in my box!

Preparation

My Steepster Select box came today as well… man, I am just getting a ton of new tea to try!

In the bag, I wasn’t really sure what to think about this tea’s smell. It truly smelled like hay and fresh grass, and I was setting myself up for disappointment. I just can’t handle the teas that taste like I’m drinking hay. It’s just not right. I’m sure it’s healthy, but it’s not right.

Let me say that I was delightfully, pleasantly surprised by the flavor of this tea. The toasted-ness definitely brings out some malty, sweet notes from the green tea that makes it super enjoyable. It is truly transformed away from the green tea flavor into this sweet, nutty blend. I’d believe you if you told me this was some kind of toasted nut infusion, rather than a roasted green tea. Other than, you know, the green leaves that were obviously in the bag.

Almost as an afterthought, underneath all of that roasted goodness, you can begin to taste the green tea base. I’d be bluffing, at best, if I tried to say I could figure out what kind of green tea flavor it was, but I know that it doesn’t taste that much different than the aftertaste I get from my genmaicha.

Now, I’ve never had a houjicha before, having only recently learned what it was. I’m really curious how ‘different’ this may taste from those roasted green teas. Am I truly tasting something unique and remarkable from Mauna Kea, and therefore it deserves me paying $10/oz for more? From my current level of inexperience, it’s really hard to say. But this will definitely kick around in the back of my mind as I try other teas.

On that note, anyone have a houjicha they would recommend?

Preparation

This is a pretty awesome green tea. It really reminds me of a sweeter gen mai cha. Gen mai cha made with Rice Krispies cereal. The roasted flavor has carmel like qualities. The green tea is smooth and almost malty. Smooth operator, lalala. I have now named it rice krisy tea.

I got this tea from Elyse at Tealet.com :)
The aroma was nice to me, sweet, roasty green aroma when dry and a scent similar to fresh cut grass when steeped.
The appearance was neat too, little green “fish-food” flakes of tea kinda like Yerba Mate.
The flavor of this one is roasty, quite smokey and slightly malty with green vegetal notes.
it reminds me of some japanese green tea i’ve had before.
The steeping time that i saw on steepster for this one is 205 degree for 2 minutes and the review above is result i got from that suggestion.
I also decided to try this with slightly cooler water and shorter steeps, i went at about 190 degrees for 30 to start, i liked it much better.
The flavor this time was nice and roasty and only slightly smokey with sweet vegetal notes, i think short steeps on this one is better for me :)
I really enjoyed it, Thank You Elyse!!!!

2nd infusion – Slightly less sweet, which allows more of the toasted flavor to come through.

3rd infusion – Much less sweet, allowing toasted flavor to become prominent.

I enjoyed each infusion for the unique flavors they yielded. I bought some of this tea from Taka after visiting his tea farm on the big island of Hawaii last week. He said that his special methods of preparation allow for the tea to be infused with boiling water without any bitterness (but he wouldn’t elaborate on his trade secrets). I highly recommend this tea and also recommend a visit to Mauna Kea tea if you’re ever on Hawaii!

Preparation

I am going through all the steepster select items that have never been tried. I think I am in the minority but I really did not like this. It reminded me of bad seaweed and I LOVE seaweed salad…but this was just not my cup. I posted it on the swap discussion.